Grand Canyon Hotel & Suites — Hotel in Tusayan

When I began looking for a place to stay for our Grand Canyon visit, I was first drawn to the town of Williams. They offer a railway system that will take you to/from the Grand Canyon. I also came across this Holiday Inn Express in Tusayan. After reading MANY reviews about these two hotels and several others, I knew these were my top two contenders. Although a train ride peaked my interest; I felt being 7 miles from the south rim gate suited us better...so that we could be on our own schedule. Did we pay more for that extra convenience: yep - it's more expensive than your average hotel cost. Was it worth the extra money: absolutely!! I have no regrets spending that extra bit to have freedom to come and go as we pleased; and, to be minutes away from our destination.||Check-in: As smooth as could be. The lovely young lady at the front desk took care of us as soon as we walked in; then, we were off to our room a few minutes later. She gave us a sheet that had tons of info about the hotel and the area; and gave us a brief overview. Definitely a great welcome!!!!||The room: Loved it!! After two full days in Vegas, the king size bed was like sleeping on a cloud. We were finally able to catch up on the rest we needed. I booked the room in the "adults" section since we don't have any children. It was a peaceful stay. The only noises we heard were the opening/closing of doors and our neighbors using their showers - all the normal sounds of a hotel.||Breakfast: One of the best breakfasts we've had at a hotel. We very much enjoyed the variety and freshness of everything. The scrambled eggs were really good (not your typical heat and re-heat eggs). We also had sausage links, oatmeal, blueberry muffins and cinnamon rolls. The coffee was really good; and their was an assortment of juices and cartons of white milk. Again, with being in the adults only section, it was quite peaceful.||Check-out: Even more of a breeze than check-in.||My advice: if you can spend the extra on this hotel....do it....especially if you're going to the...

When it comes to the breakfast, All I can say is WOW!!! While food was the standard fair you get at any typical Holiday Inn, the service was beyond incredible. I have never, ever been treated so well by hotel staff. When we walked in on Sunday morning, Alberto was standing at the front greeting everyone with a friendly smile & fun comments such as “Good Morning!!! I’m glad to see you!!!” “We’ve been cooking for you all night!!! Welcome!!!”

Imelda is the warmest, kindest genuinely sincere hostess. It was as if we were guests in her own home. She took drink orders & brought them to our table even though we could easily do it ourselves. My daughter grabbed a bagel & put it on her plate and when Imelda saw it was uncooked, she gladly offered to toast it for her. Imelda came by our table several times just to check on us & refill our cups. I made a plate for my husband & scooped it & wrapped it in plastic so it wouldn’t spill on the way back to the room.

There were several other staff members walking around and helping as well. The food was constantly being restocked with fresh items. I’ve never seen so many workers going above and beyond at the breakfast buffet.

At first, I was taken aback because I was confused. It’s a Holiday Inn, not a 5 star resort. Why am I being treated like a VIP? I’ve had friendly service for sure, but nothing like this!!! Then I noticed they were doing this for everyone - not just me & my family. That’s when I realized this is just how they do things here. After 3 mornings, I’m still surprised because it is so unexpected.

Bravo to the amazing staff working selflessly to serve guests!!! You totally made my day each morning & I appreciate your endless efforts to make everyone feel important. I don’t know how many people thank you each day, but you all deserve unlimited kudos for your outstanding customer service!!! And maybe even a bonus or a raise!!! Especially Imelda, she is a true stand out & absolutely needs to...

This Holiday Inn Express may have ruined others for me. While it's not without flaws, we had some of the best service ever here.

The room was a bit run down looking and had some struggles with at least one of the electrical outlets not keeping plugs in and our TV had parental lock turned on and it took us a while to figure out how to fix it (maintenence wasn't any help with that.) We also were there when there were prescribed fires being done outside, which I understand wasn't the hotel's fault, but our room had such a strong smoke smell, it was setting off our allergies. I didn't notice it when I moved to areas away from our room though so might have been nice to be moved to a room that was away from the door to the outside.

What was great though was the service at breakfast! They have the pretty standard Holiday Inn Express breakfast setup (minus the pancake machine), but they have double the stations and the lady and gentleman who run it are soooooooo helpful! Usually it's hard to find anyone at the breakfast area to help if you need something. From the moment we walked into the breakfast area here though, we were warmly greeted by them and the guy immediately opened the covers on the hot foods for us and explained where everything was. The lady was running around to tables bringing juices and coffees to people, toasting breads for people, taking away empty plates, and even packaging up food to go. I would also bring my water bottle to fill up for the day after I was done eating and she offered to fill it for me both days. The food was fresh and didn't seem to be sitting out long, like at other hotels too.

Lastly, the other great thing about this hotel is the location. If you're going to the Grand Canyon (which you should), it is very quick and convenient to get there. Just turn out of the parking lot, drive down the road a short ways and you're at the south entrance.

Would...